


Great Power

by Claireisclaire



Category: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: F/M, Homecoming, Lizisnotmyfav, Original Character(s), Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Pink hair, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Peter Parker, Spider-Man: Homecoming Spoilers, Tony Stark Has A Heart, peterisclumsy, petersucksatflirting, spiderman - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-17
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-12-03 05:43:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 15,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11525742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Claireisclaire/pseuds/Claireisclaire
Summary: Peter has just adjusted to a schedule: wake up, don't miss the train, go to school, watch over the city, wait for Happy to call for another mission. When Emmy shows up in the middle of the semester, Peter battles with his schedule and want to spend more time with the new girl.





	1. New Girl and Concussions...and Chinese Food

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: I know nothing about how New York works or how the cities are layered. So, I apologize in advance if I get some details wrong. If someone would like to explain to me how the train system works in Queens that would be lovely. I live in Austin, we just got a train to take up to and from campus…but I bet it’s nothing like the subway up north.

“Alright guys, there is a new student going to join the decathlon. Tomorrow is her first day of school and she was the star pupil of her old school.” Mr. Harrington said with his hands behind his back. “I got her a spot on our team by begging the principal to forgo the multiple tests that it takes to get into the team.” 

“She’s that good, coach?” Manuel leaned forward raising one eyebrow. 

“Oh, she’s better than good. We’re definitely going to state this year.” 

“What’s her name?” Michelle asked. 

Mr. Harrington smiled, “Esmerelda Barron.” He looked at them waiting for a response. “Guys, Barron. Do you not recognize the name?”

Peter raised his arm up half way, “isn’t Barron the name of the piano player?” Peter had remembered his band director gushing on about how he had gotten ten tickets and that he’d be taking some students with him to the performance. 

“Yes! This will bring such good publicity to the school, and, hopefully,” Mr. Harrington hopped as he paced, “bring a large donation to our organization. So, I want you all to be welcoming and show her around the school. And for the love of all things,” he put his hands on the table and leaned over the students, “don’t let her near the music hall. I beat Torres by seconds to talk to the principal about Sofia.” 

After the decathlon meeting, Ned and Peter walked out of the school. “Oh, I found her, I found her!” Ned handed the phone over to Peter. He starred down at the picture, a woman’s smiling face starred back at him, she wore a black dress standing next to a younger version of the woman. 

“She’s pretty,” Peter commented, handing back the phone. He didn’t pay much attention to the picture, he had his eyes on Liz, no one else mattered. 

“I know,” Ned groaned, “just what we need; another beautiful girl to reject us.” 

Peter smiled and stopped, holding his hand out for Ned to do their hand shake, “well, see you tomorrow.” 

“See ya.” 

Peter ran into a back alley and changed into his spider-man suit. He webbed his backpack up to the side of a building and swung off to the roof of a warehouse. Sitting crisscross, Peter looked around, his eyes focusing on strange movement. 

“What the hell?” Peter heard near the south side of the city. He swung closer to the sound and saw two guys walking slowly toward a young girl. 

“Alright, damsel in distress,” Peter pepped himself up. 

“Back off, losers, I just wanted a sandwich,” the girl uncrosses her arms. The men chuckled, Peter took a breath and prepared to save the day. 

The girl took one step forward and kicked her leg in the crotch of one man and pulled the collar down on the second. She pulled her knee up to meet the second man’s nose, Peter heard the crack. Both men fell down as the girl started running. 

Peter landed on the floor by the two men and webbed their hands and feet to the ground, they didn’t even notice him. “Don’t…attack women,” Peter scolded half-heartedly as he watched the girl run away. He swung after her, flipping in the air and landing in front of her. “It’s okay, you’re safe.” 

The girl jumped back, a small yelp coming from her lips. She fell backwards, hitting her head. “Jesus Christ,” she breathed out. “Uh…hi?”

“Hi,” Peter waved. He tilted his head to the side and noticed how beautiful she was. Her hair was orange, like the sunset. The freckles were highlighted by the rose color covering her checks. “Those guys won’t be following you, you’re safe.” 

“Who…are you?”

He held back the urge to say his real name, “Spider-Man, here to save the day.” 

The girl smiled, “spider…man? Well, Spider-Man, thank you for...making sure I was okay.” The girl tried to get up and Peter rushed to help her. She grabbed his bicep and Peter felt his stomach drop. 

“What…uh, what’s your name?” Peter asked not-so-smoothly. 

“Emmy,” she stood and gripped his bicep harder, swaying a bit. She put her other hand to her head. Peter put his free hand on her back, pushing her toward him. 

“That’s a cool name,” he was so glad she couldn’t see that he was starring hard core at her. 

“Well, it’s not spider-man, but…” Peter laughed and didn’t want to let go. “I…may have a concussion.”

“I can drop you off where ever you need to go,” Peter offered. “Anywhere you want,” he added.  
Emmy laughed, “Austin, Texas would be nice.” 

“Well, it might take a while, but I’m up for the challenge,” Peter answered seriously. 

“No, it’s fine. Uh, just take me to the nearest hotel.” 

Peter frowned under his mask, “you don’t live here?”

“Officially, yes. But I…you don’t want to hear this, you’re probably busy.”

“No, no, I am extremely not busy,” Peter said noticing that he was still pushing her toward him. “Here, I know a place you can stay for the night, if you want.” 

Emmy smiled, “thank you, that’d be great.” 

Peter pulled her closer, “hold on tight, Emmy. And don’t let go.” Emmy wrapped her arms around his neck. He shot out his webs and swung them back to near his apartment complex. He dropped down a few blocks away, “the apartment complex over there always has a room open.” 

“Thank you, Spider-Man,” Emmy smiled as she loosened her arms around his neck. 

“You’re welcome,” Peter swung away, out of sight. He crept back to see if she would actually go in. As he watched her cross the street, he noticed another woman grab the door handle at the same time as her. “May,” Peter gasped. He swung around to the back of the building and up the fire escape. He ripped off his uniform and slipped on sweats and a tank top. He barely slowed down his breathing when he heard the loud unlocking of the front door. 

“May,” Peter said cheerfully as he grabbed the milk carton out of the fridge, “you’re home early.”

“I sent you a text, Johnson didn’t need me so I picked up some Chinese on the way home.” 

“Cool, cool,” Peter took a breath and grabbed a cup from the cupboard. 

“I ran into the nicest girl in the lobby, she was looking for a room for the night,” Peter kept his back turned to her trying to keep his movement slow and steady. 

“Mhmm.”

“I reminded the desk clerk that Mrs. Klemer was in Jersey seeing her grandson and wouldn’t be home for another week. So,” Peter knew where this was going, and he didn’t like it, “we’ve got a new neighbor for a few days.” 

“Cool,” Peter’s hand shook as he sloppily poured milk into the glass. 

“Peter, she’s really cute. About your age, and she’s coming over for dinner.” 

“What?”


	2. Dinner and questions... and crushes

Emmy opened the door, walking into a room that could only be described as a vomit of flower patterns. “At least it’s cheap,” she whispered as she took off her shoes and placed them by the door mat. She took a second and went into the bathroom, combing her hair with her fingers, she winced when she combed over a bump on the back of her head. “Ow,” she groaned. Filling up her palm with water from the sink, she drank it. Her rose gold pink hair was frizzy and unevenly curly, she pulled half of it up, it didn’t look any better. So she sighed and got another sip of water.

Emmy didn’t mind the tang-y taste of the sink water, or that she was living in a Claude Monet painting, she just couldn’t be around her mother right now. She was in, what Emmy had dubbed, “her dark place”. Back in Texas Emmy could just go over to a friend’s house and spend the night, but then the Merkin just HAD to hire her mother as their season spotlight performer. And in three short weeks their wonderful house in Hyde Park was emptied and Emmy moved to Queens. 

May, what she had insisted Emmy called her, said that Emmy must come over for dinner. Well, since Emmy couldn’t get her sandwich because of dumb and dumber, she wasn’t about to refuse food.

Spider-Man drifted into Emmy’s mind, he had made sure she was okay. That was nice, but she couldn’t find the reason for the costume. It wasn’t the weirdest thing she had seen; Austin was the best place in the world. In two years, after she graduated she would be heading back to study Biomedical Engineering, the literal farthest thing from music as she could get. 

Knocking on the door, Emmy only waited a few seconds before May opened the door, beckoning her in. 

“Thank you for inviting me,” Emmy said, rubbing the front of her jeans. 

“No problem dearie, this is Peter,” May gestured to the boy standing awkwardly behind her. He pulled at the end of his shirt. 

“Hey,” Peter said quietly. “I’m…Peter.”

“Emmy.”

“Alright, here, do you like fried rice or white rice?” May asked. 

“Is both an option?” Emmy asked sitting down at the table. 

“It is always an option,” May smiled scooping both rice onto a plate. “So, Emmy did you just move here?”

“Yeah, I’m from Austin. My mom got a job nearby.”

“Do you go to a school nearby?”

Peter tried to get May’s attention to stop grilling her, it didn’t work. 

“Mid…something.” 

“Midtown?” Peter spoke for the first time. 

“Yeah, Midtown. Do you go there?”

Peter nodded as he pushed the sauced chicken in his mouth. 

“Peter is a sophomore,” May said, joining the table. 

“Same.” Peter almost chocked on his food, he not only had to know that the most beautiful girl in the world was staying the night right next door, but now she was going to his school too. Life was really kicking him in the balls lately. 

“Well, then Peter can walk you to school,” May leaned forward toward Emmy, “and it’ll give him a reason to get up at a reasonable hour.” 

“May!” Peter said through his teeth. 

Dinner passed by without too many awkward pauses. Peter learned that Emmy was interested in engineering, that she was not a fan of classical music, and that she was actually a natural blonde. 

“Thank you for dinner, May. Thank you for inviting me.” 

“Oh, anytime, Emmy,” May closed the door behind her. “She is so cool,” May said to Peter. “Make sure you show her around school tomorrow, Peter.” May leaned against the wall as she watched Peter clean up his plate. 

“May, stop trying to make me date every single girl who you meet.”

May thought for a second, “not every girl.” 

Peter ran into his room, shutting the door. He took off his clothes and crashed down on the bed. Though he didn’t want to appease May by going after Emmy, he couldn’t help the feeling that he wanted to run his fingers through her pink hair, and how he desperately wanted to know what her laugh sounded like. 

The thought of his homework in his backpack, made him jump back into his suit and swing back to get it. When get dug out his phone he saw many messages from Ned, he glazed over them, something about his mother’s cooking. Then he saw the word that brought him back to reality. 

Liz.

Peter hadn’t even thought about her all afternoon. The girl he claimed to have been in love with since freshmen year, the girl he hadn’t stop thinking about since he first saw her at the football game. He hadn’t gone a day without thinking about her until now. 

Too many things are changing, Peter thought. He needed to forget about Emmy, he didn’t have time to go through the process of having a crush on her. It was too much effort, and he had spent all this time on Liz, it would be wrong to just drop her for some new…pink haired…beautiful…new girl, that he didn’t even know. 

Peter swung back to his room and laid down on the bed, actively trying to think about Liz and not Emmy.


	3. school and greetings...and feelings

Emmy woke up in a strangers bed, she pulled her phone out of her bag and saw she had not messages. Not a word from her mother; she hadn’t really expected any. Lisa wasn’t the type to worry about other people when she was focused on herself…even if that person was her daughter. 

She shot her mother a text, I’ll be home after school. 

It uploaded next to the plethora of other messages that she had sent over the pass weeks. All from her, no response from her mother. 

Emmy pushed the phone into her backpack and pulled out an outfit from her backpack. 

When she closed and locked the door behind her, Peter was leaning on the wall, tapping his fingers on his jeans. 

“Hey, Peter,” Emmy says. 

“Hey, how…how did you sleep?” Peter immediately regretted his question. 

Emmy smiled, “fine. Thanks for dinner, yesterday was weird.” 

Peter watched her out of the corner of his eye while they talked, “weird how?”

“Well, this…guy, I guess, came up to me. Called himself Spider-Man-”

“Spider-Man? Yeah, he’s kind of like,” Peter smiled, “the local hero around here.”

“Oh, well. He pointed me to this place, said I could get a room. So, yeah, I guess sort of hero-like.” Emmy was pushed into Peter as they entered the subway station. “Is it always this cramped?”

“Yeah, you’ll get used to it. Here,” Peter held out his arm, Emmy took it. He pulled her forward, through the crowd. Emmy took deep breaths and kept her eyes closed as she trusted Peter not to lead her off the ledge. She felt as if the world was spinning, she felt extremely hot, like she was in a sauna. 

Emmy hadn’t even noticed they had stopped moving until Peter turned back to her, “Emmy? Are you okay?” Emmy opened her eyes. 

“Uh…yeah, it’s just. This is a lot of people…in a very small space.” 

Peter saw that Emmy had gotten pale and her breathing pace had increased. 

“You know, Midtown has a great engineering program, there is a welding team, Ned and I are a part of. Were you in any clubs back in Texas?”

Emmy was thankful for the distraction, “yeah, decathlon was my forte. We went to nationals in D.C. last year, it was fun. I got a call from the teacher a yesterday, Harrington, I think. He says I can join if I want.” 

Peter connected the dots in his head, Emmy was Esmerelda. How had he not linked these facts together before now? 

“You’re Esmerelda?” Peter said before really thinking through the question. “Our decathlon coach was telling us about you. You’re…like, really good.” 

Emmy smiled, “it was the people who made it fun for me.”

“We’ll, you should join. Ned and I usually have movie night afterwards if we’re not busy. You could join, if you wanted.” Peter watched her face, trying to see if it was the wrong thing to say. 

Inviting her to movie night doesn’t mean I like her, Peter told himself, I’m not cheating on Liz, if I invite her over with Ned then it’s still a friends thing, I can be friends with her. 

Peter then mentally kicked himself for thinking “cheating”. Liz wasn’t even completely solid on his name. 

“Sounds like fun, what movies do you watch?” Peter was shocked, he already couldn’t wait to tell Ned that a girl, a real live, and slightly gorgeous, girl wanted to hang out with them. He hadn’t even noticed the subway doors open until he heard her say, “thank Jesus.” 

Emmy latched onto Peter’s arm as he led her to the top of the station and back to where she could see blue sky. 

“Oh, you know, the nerdy kind: Star Wars, Indiana Jones, E.T., we just finished the Back to the Future series.” 

“Men in Black?” Emmy asked, letting go of his arm. 

Peter smiled, “that will be put on the list.” 

Peter walked Emmy to the front office and helped her find her first class, which was not with him, sadly. But he would see her in second period for future planning, plus lunch, science, P.E., and history. 

In her first class, Emmy was forced to walk to the front of the room and introduce herself. 

“Uh…hey, I’m Emmy. I’m moved from Texas…”

“Did you live on a farm?” Some boy with a jersey said before fist bumping the guy next to him. 

“Austin, Texas. The closest thing we have to a farm there is Whole Foods,” Emmy turned to her teacher, “may I sit down now?”

“Barron,” the teacher tapped the name on her clipboard, “any relation to the pianist?”

Emmy barley resisted the eye roll she wanted to release, “my mother.”

“How amazing it must be to have someone that talented around all the time.” Emmy gritted her teeth and nodded, heading to her seat in the second row. 

She felt the people starring at her all day, which she had expected. New girl + pink hair = major attention. And contrary to popular belief, it was mostly positive…. mostly.

“Your hair is so pretty,” she got at least twenty times. “Can I get your number?” She got twice as much. But overall, the teachers seemed the most curious about her. Handing her flyers like small business owners at a parade. They asked her to join choir, theater, soccer, language clubs, chess clubs, anti-bullying club, yearbook, etc. She had smiled and taken the flyers, stuffing them in her spiral, not minding if they crumpled. 

Lunch was like a get to know you show for Emmy. She met Ned, who just starred and kept quiet for the most part beside whispering something to Peter every few minutes. Kids from all grades came up and talked to her for a few minutes having the same routine. “Hey, how are you? I’m [enter random student name here] and I’m part of the [enter organization name here], if you need someone to show you around, don’t hesitate to ask. Have a great first day, see you around.” 

After the fifth person left, Emmy rested one hand on her cheek, “well, I’m socially tired. These people are flocking to me like birds to bread.” 

“Yeah, well,” Ned spoke up, “you’re kind of awesome. So, you should expect this for at least the next week.” 

“A week? Jeez, don’t y’all ever get new students?”

Peter and Ned both shake their heads. “This is kind of a hard to school to get into, people never get in after the deadline, and especially don’t start half way through the fall semester.” 

Emmy followed Peter to the decathlon room where some of them were meeting, Liz couldn’t make it because of Volleyball try outs, and Michelle was…doing something strange, probably. So it was just Manuel, Ned, Peter, and Emmy. 

“You’re Esmerelda,” Mr. Harrington shook her hand forcefully. “What a pleasure to have you on the team.” 

“Thanks, Mr. Harrington. But, please, call me Emmy.” 

“Alright, Emmy. I saw the tape of your nationals last year to see your strong suits, but,” he chuckled, “it seems like everything is your strong suit, so I just put a list of topics in this folder I want us to go over this semester. If you need help you can come to me or anyone else in the squad, sound good?”

Emmy took the folder and nodded, “sounds good.” 

“Alright, then this will conclude today’s meeting. Study hard and I’ll see you all on Thursday.” 

“Hey, Emmy, right?” Manuel said. “I’m Manuel, Midtown’s DJ and party master.” Emmy shook his hand and tried not to burst out laughing. 

“That is…relevant information,” she said, sarcasm dripping from the words, “thanks.” 

“Oh,” Peter laughed, looking to Ned with a smile. Emmy winked at the boys as she turned to leave the library. 

“Got something to say, Penis Parker?” Emmy heard what he said, but Peter and Ned were both by her side before she could think to say anything. 

“Is he always…” Emmy started. 

“Rude? Yes.” Ned answered. “But he’s smart.” 

“Everyone here is smart, not everyone here is an ass.” 

“Eh, most people.”

“Y’all aren’t,” Emmy noted. 

“Thanks,” Peter said. He was smiling, because of the compliment, but also because of the word ‘y’all’, it was a word he had recently associated with illiterate cowboys and dumb cow folk, but Emmy made it sound restorable…and cute. 

Peter had made the decision to stop thinking so much about his feeling, his not feelings, for Emmy. He had just met her, and everyone knows there is no such thing as love…like-like at first sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all, this is way too fun. But I feel like there needs to be more conflict... and so, next chapter... a conflict there will be.


	4. Book and Guns...and Afternoon Talks

Emmy used her phone to find out which train she had to take to get back to her house. 

The soft sonata sounds echoed through the house. Emmy groaned, preparing herself for her mother. 

Emmy had learned at an early age that she could discern her mother’s mood from what music she played. A loud, Sousa-type march meant that she was upset or uninspired. A quick, scale run over minor chords meant she focused, a phonetic sign saying “stay away”. The quiet, methodical calm songs, they filled Emmy with dread. Her mother never used to play those, not until Emmy’s father left.

The first time Emmy heard her mother playing a song like this, she sat with her back leaning on the open door, a soft smile on her face as her mother’s graceful fingers glaze across the keys. Her mother had then thrown a wine glass at her, barely missing her head. 

Emmy plugged in her ear buds and sundered to her unpacked room. 

“Unpack or homework?”

For the next two hours, Emmy unpacked…one box, it was her clothes. She arranged them by season, then by color, then by style, then by season again. 

It took her a fraction of the time to do her homework. The last work she looked at was an English project due next week. She had to give a verbal report on the novel Animal Farm. Emmy decided to go get a copy from the library to refresh her memory. 

The first thing Emmy noticed when she took out her head buds was that the music had ended, so she ran back into her room, locking it and pushing her bookshelf against it. She opened the window and walked out of her small balcony, swung over and dropped down. 

Emmy walked into the library, she ran her finger across the binds of the books. She started reading the first page as she goes to check it out. 

“Do you have a card with us?” A lanky man asked. 

“Uh…no?”

“You need a card to check out a book,” the man leaned on his elbows, his face getting uncomfortably close to Emmy. “It’s free, I can hook you up right now.” 

“Yeah,” Emmy put her wallet back in her bag, and flinched back when she saw how close he was, “uh…sure.” 

“Name’s Braden, what’s yours, cutie?”

“Really?” Emmy said deadpan. “At a library?”

“I do it everywhere.”

“Ew.”

“Everyone get on the ground!” A loud voice shouts. Emmy turned to see six men, all with machine guns, holding them up in the air. “On the ground, now!”

“Holy shit,” Bradon whispers, grabbing the landline before hiding behind the desk. Emmy knelt down pressing her back against the desk. The room moved in slow motion, and her vision went blurry. 

Emmy saw the fuzzy outline of one of the men, dressed head to toe in black. She rubbed her eyes and saw the other men walking around the library. 

“Where’s the box, bro?” The man asked Bradon. 

“What…what box?”

“Don’t mess with me, put the phone down and tell me where the money box is!”

When Emmy pulled her phone out of her back pocket when the three men were turned around. She typed in 911, her fingers shaking. 

“Eh, eh, eh,” a foot slammed down on Emmy’s hand. “You don’t need to do that,” the man used the barrel of his gun to tilt Emmy’s chin up to see him. He wore a mask, but green eyes bore through the thin fabric. “Aw, don’t look at me like that, pink poppy.”

“What the hell is that?” Another man asked loudly. Emmy watched as the man was taken to the ground by Spider-Man. 

“Shhh,” Spider-Man said on top of the man’s chest, “we’re in a library.” Spider-Man takes down the second man, making his gun stick to the top of the wall. “Who robs a library, you must be a special kind of stupid.” 

Emmy was pulled up by her arm and felt the barrel digging into her neck, “stop right there, bro, or I’ll shoot.” 

Spider-Man put his hands up in the air, “sorry, bro,” he spoke sarcastically, “can’t let you do that.” He pulled the gun forward with his webs, catching it in his hands. “I can’t believe that worked,” he said softer. 

The man pulled out a knife and pressed it to her throat, “seriously?” Emmy said, she grabbed the man’s hand and pulled it away with all her might. She spun and punched him right between the crotch. The man dropped the knife and it scrapped Emmy’s leg as it went down. Emmy landed on her butt and scooted away as fast as she could. 

Peter rushed to her side. 

“Hey, man, get outta here, right now.” The last man standing said, holding his gun to Bradon’s head. 

Peter rolled his eyes behind his mask and shot the webs, the gun fired off and people screamed as the bullet hit the back wall. Peter threw the gun back at him, hitting him in the head, knocking him out. 

“Is everyone okay?” Peter asked around. “The police are on their way.” He intended to leave, but Emmy grabbed onto his pants. 

“I can’t talk to the police, please,” Emmy begged. Peter thought quickly, he had to leave before the police arrived. So, Peter did something stupid. He did as she asked. He picked her up in his arms and swung out of the library. 

Peter dropped them off at the roof of the library, he set her down and checked the long cut on her left leg. “You should go to a doctor, Emmy.”

Emmy smiled, “you remembered my name.” She clutched her bag in one hand and the book in the other. 

“I wouldn’t forget my favorite damsel,” he joked. “Will you let me take you to a hospital, please?” 

“It’s just a scratch, I’ll be fine, that was…” Emmy trailed off. “You’re like…a real superhero. Like Iron Man?”

“Oh…uh, no. Well, I hope to be. I…I try to be.”

“I think you are, that was amazing.” 

Peter leaned against a metal box, “so, do you want me to take you home?”

Emmy shook her head, “can we stay…just a bit longer.” 

Peter slid his back down the box and sat crisscrossed on the roof. “Sure; so, what was with the no police thing?”

Emmy rested her head on the wall behind her, “it’s just…they would call my mom. And…she’s…I can’t...” Emmy didn’t want to dive into her family troubles with some guy she didn’t know. “It’s complicated.” 

Peter could tell something was off, but he understood the complicated line, he had used it whenever people brought up his uncle. 

“I’m sorry,” though Peter understood, it didn’t mean he wasn’t still curious. He wanted to ask if she needed help, but he guessed she wouldn’t answer it. 

“What book did you get?”

“Animal Farm, it’s for a school project. I…I…” she chuckled, “I didn’t get a library card.” 

And so they talked, about school. Peter kept it vague, not giving that many details into his personal life. They were still talking when the sun had finally set, he had only noticed because he could no longer look at the details of her face, how her eyes lit up when she said certain words. 

“You should be getting back,” Peter said. 

“Ugh, yeah. Man, I hate the subway,” Emmy stood up. 

“I can drop you off, promise I won’t come and stalk you,” Peter joked. 

Emmy laughed and held her arms up like a child wanting to be carried, “alright then, Spider-Man.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess who has an idea on where this is going?? Me!


	5. Baseball hats and lies...and Spider-Man

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Emmy’s outfit: https://www.polyvore.com/emmy_ch/set?id=225262774

Peter looked at the mansion and tried not to make a comment on how lucky she was to live here. “Could you drop me off on the balcony?” Peter obliged and made sure to remember how it felt to have her arms around his neck. 

Just because Peter couldn’t have feelings for her, that didn’t mean Spider-Man couldn’t. And it wasn’t like this was interrupting his job as the protector of Queens…

“Thank you, this has been a…weird day.” Peter watched as she opened her balcony doors, he noticed her book shelf was blocking the door. 

“Yeah…weird day.” He started to leave when the book shelf moved, a loud pounding came at the door. 

“Open the damn door, Esmerelda!” A woman’s voice yelled. 

Emmy simply sighed and threw her bag on her unmade bed, “you should leave.” 

“Emmy-” Peter said confused, taking a step toward her. 

“I’ll be in more trouble if she sees a strangely dressed boy in my room. Please, I’ll be fine. After there being a gun and knife to my neck, I can handle my mom.” 

Emmy pushed at Peter’s chest, until he was out on the balcony, she closed the door. “Thank you,” she mouthed. 

Peter flipped off the balcony and landed on the ground below with ease. He couldn’t hear anything, but his gut told him that it wasn’t good. He for sure did not want to get Emmy in more trouble than she was now, but he couldn’t just leave her here. 

So, he did what he thought was best, he called in to the police. 

“911, what’s your emergency?”

“Hi, uh, there is a lot of yelling over at this house that I’m walking by.”

“Alright, we can send a car out there now, what’s the address.” Peter gave the address and then swung out of sight, feeling better that he didn’t do nothing. 

“May?” Peter asked, walking out of his room dressed in shorts and a t-shirt. 

“He emerges,” May jokes, “what’s up?”

“Oh, nothing,” Peter said quickly, “I just have a question…about something.”   
“Okay, shoot,” May said turning around in her seat to face Peter. 

“Well, it’s about Emmy,” Peter intertwined his fingers. 

May’s face lit up, “oh, do you want to ask her out?”

“What?” 

“It’s okay, Peter, you just have to be yourself.” 

“May, no,” Peter put a hand in his hair.

“And if she says no, then that’s her loss-”

“May! I’m not going to ask her out. I just think she’s in trouble.” 

“What trouble?” 

Peter leaned against the wall, “her mom, she seems scared of her.” 

May nodded, “I caught some stress when she talked about her mom, but, Peter, this is a rugged topic. Maybe you should talk to the school.”

“The school? May, she’s been a school for a day, I just want to know how to help her.” 

“Tell her that she is welcomed in our home at any time, we can pull out the couch to make it a bed. There’s nothing more you can do beyond that, Peter.” May stood and pulled Peter into a hug. “Try to get some sleep, okay?”

The next morning, Peter got to school just in time for first period. He tried to get there early, but his trained delayed. 

Peter walked into his second class of the day, future planning. It was basically a class that helped students decide what to do with their lives. Peter sat right behind her, he made sure to get there early so that maybe he would have time to talk to her before lunch. 

Mrs. Smith started class, talking about building your future today, or something like that, Peter wasn’t really paying attention. 

The door opened ten minutes into class, Emmy strolled in with her pink hair in pigtail braids that reach just past her shoulders, a black baseball hat pulled low on her face slightly covering sunglasses, and a leather jacket zipped up to her neck. 

“Thank you for joining us, Miss Barron,” Mrs. Smith said with a hand on her hip. 

Emmy sat down in her seat, keeping her head down. With Peter’s advanced sight he could see, a blue and purple bruise covering one eye and seeping up her forehead. 

Peter couldn’t concentrate, he thought of ways to get her out of class. Nothing would insure that she would follow. So he settled for the old fashion way. 

Emmy was focused so hard on no throwing her backpack out the door and breaking her desk in half, when she felt something fall off her shoulder. She looked down in her lap to see a folded piece of paper. She looked behind her and Peter was quickly writing down notes. 

You okay?

The short answer was no, but Emmy knew that that answer wouldn’t suffice. So, she decided to give herself some time to think. 

I’ll explain at lunch

Peter’s heart pounded; it was quite a weird feeling: to know what happened but not able to confront it. He had to remind himself of all the things she told Spider-Man and not him. 

Emmy had shot out of the classroom before the bell finished ringing. Peter raced off after her, “Emmy. Emmy, wait up.” He caught up and could see the edges of the bruise behind her sunglasses.

“Peter, not now, okay?”

“Hey, let’s skip next period. We can talk outside,” Peter offered. 

Emmy didn’t know why she nodded, why she was actually preparing to tell Peter, a boy she had met yesterday, a boy she didn’t know, her life. But, she couldn’t explain it, she trusted him. Maybe it was the fact on how they met, maybe it was how he comforted her on the subway ride to school, or maybe she just really needed to scream. Either way you look at it, Emmy was definitely skipping third period with Peter Parker. 

Peter led her to the practice soccer field, it wasn’t used for anything but kickball tournaments in the fall. The small field was surrounded by hedges, making it the perfect place for confessing secrets, hook ups, or private conversations. 

“What happened yesterday, Emmy? Are you in trouble? Is it your mother?” He asked. 

“Woah, woah, slow down. It…” she paused, making her decision on what to tell Peter, “…I went to the library yesterday and these people came into rob the place, or something, and one of them took me as hostage, held a gun up to my throat. I punched him,” Emmy took a breath, “then he knocked me out, which is the reason for the sunglasses.” 

Peter looked down, chewing on his inner cheek. He wanted to yell, that’s not what happened.   
“Then the Spider-Man guy showed up and saved me, he dropped me off at my house. The police came by later to take my statement from what I saw, it...was terrifying, but I’m okay. I promise.” 

Peter looked at her, seeing her eyes water behind her tinted sunglasses. “Emmy, I’m sorry, that must hurt.” 

“It’s fine, I have a whole bottle of Advil with me.”

The pause wasn’t awkward, Emmy thought she could physically feel Peter’s worry for her. 

“So,” Peter started, “you saw Spider-Man. Was he as cool as they say?”

Emmy smiled, not minding that it hurt the bruise on her face, “yeah. He was nice, seems like a great guy to have protecting the city. Have you ever seen him?”

“A few times, never got to speak to him though.” 

“He sounds young, like our age. But he’s super strong, like, he carried me and swung himself from building to building too. I was thinking about that, actually. I think it might have something to do with the webs he has.” 

“The… spider webs?” 

“Yeah, it’s not real spider web, that wouldn’t support anyone’s weight, but it’s thick, and has many strands banded together like a braid, which makes me think there might be a strong base chemical, like Cesium or Rubidium hydroxide.” 

“That sounds…plausible,” Peter tried to hide his shock. How had she figured out the base compound from just looking at the webs, he thought. 

“He’d might also have an acid to it too, my first guess would be perchloric acid for a more aqueous solution, but I would have to test it.” 

“Well, since you’ve seen the guy twice in two days you could ask him.”

“Two days in a row I’ve been attacked, meaning if I see Spider-Man than I’ll be in some kind of trouble.” 

“You seem to attract trouble,” Peter smiled. 

Emmy smiled back, “I must have. What about you, Peter? Do you attract trouble?”

“Daily,” he laughed, “but on a different scale. I’m more of a socially troubled guy.”

“I don’t see that,” Emmy said truthfully. “You seem fine to me. I think most people who believe they are socially troubled just over think everything they say.” 

“I do do that, a lot.” Peter realized. 

“See, you just have to be confident in what you’re saying, then, poof, no more social trouble for you.” 

Peter and Emmy laughed until she grabbed her torso. 

“What’s wrong?” Peter asked. 

“I forgot about the bruise, it hurts to laugh.” 

“You hurt your ribs?”

“Oh, I…” Emmy stuttered, “it was at the library, too. Must have happened when I got knocked out.” 

Peter’s feelings had come full circle, he wanted to yell again. He just wanted to know the truth, because what he was thinking, he hoped it wasn’t as bad as that. 

“It’s fine, it’s the first time today I haven’t thought about my injuries.” Emmy looked up at the sky, “it’s a beautiful day.” 

“It is,” Peter agreed. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Emmy laid down on her back, one hand holding onto her ribs, the other behind her head acting as a pillow. 

“Peter,” she said softly as he laid down beside her laying his hands on his stomach. He suddenly felt nervous, like he was about to get asked a serious question. What if she knew that he was Spider-Man? 

“Mhmm.” 

“Do you think the new Alien movie is going to be good?” 

Peter almost sighed in relief. 

For the next hour they talked about the alien movie, then about aliens in general, then about the battle of New York, then about the Avengers. By the time lunch came around they were discussing who would win in a fight Iron Man or Obi Wan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how do y'all like it so far?


	6. Feilds and foods...and more lies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is short but it’s leading to something amazing next chapter. Guys, I’m so excited about the next chapter.

“Do you want to go to lunch?” Peter asked still laying on the grass, his sides were sore from laughing. 

“I’m not in the mood for the pity stares,” Emmy sighed. “Not until the swelling goes down so I can at least put some make up on it.” 

Peter turned his head to face her, “Emmy, I know we’ve kind of just met. But, if you need anything...” he trailed off, forgetting what May had told him. “I mean, like, I’m here for you, if you want to talk…or anything.” He was stumbling, but he felt like he said the right thing. 

“Thank you, Peter. I’m glad I’ve made at least one friend here.” 

“Well, we should leave before the seniors get out at 3.” Neither of them moved. 

“Alright,” Emmy groaned as she pushed herself up. “Where do we do now?”

“May said you’d be welcome at any time, and…we have pasta.” 

“I like pasta,” Emmy spoke innocently. 

“Is it your favorite food?”

“Oh, no. Italian is great, but I could, and happily would, eat Mexican food for the rest of my life.” 

Peter smiled, “I could have guessed. I’ve never had it.” 

Emmy stopped, Peter spun around to face her. “My heart just broke a little.” 

Peter laughed, “I’m sorry? We don’t have them around my apartment. Lots of Chinese, and Greek if you wanna walk a while.” 

“But…but quesadillas, tamales, taquitos, oh, taquitos,” Emmy put her hands to her heart. “Alright, we’ll go to your place but next time you’re coming to my house. I packed a whole backpack from Texas with just sauces and spices.” 

As they walked up to the apartment, Emmy’s phone rang. She pulled it out and groaned. 

“Yes?” Emmy said, her voice low and angry. “What?” She stopped walking. “What… I can’t understand you. Slow down, you’re slurring you’re-” She put a hand on Peter’s arm, making him stop. “Okay, okay. I’m on my way home.” 

Peter wasn’t going to admit he was upset, not at Emmy, as obviously, something big happened. He did admit to himself that he had a wonderful time with Emmy today. He stopped thinking about feeling, or not feeling, feelings for her. It was so much simpler when he got out of his own head and just lived in the moment. He realized he was sounding like May; he shuddered on the inside. 

“I’m sorry, Peter. My mom is freaking out; I have to get back home. I’m sorry,” 

“It’s fine, if you need anything just text me.” 

Emmy pulled Peter in for a quick hug, “and thank you, for today, Peter.” 

Peter watched Emmy jog a while before hailing a taxi that passed by her, he watched her get in then headed up to his apartment. 

“Hey, May.” 

“Peter?” May walked out of her bedroom, which doubled as her office, “what are you doing here, it’s barley past one. Why aren’t you at school?”

“Emmy came to school with a black eye and bruises across her face,” Peter sat down on the couch. May immediately was at his side pulling him into a hug. “She said it was from the library robbery yesterday.” 

“I heard about that, she was there? Poor thing,” May rubbed Peters back. 

“Yeah, but I think she’s lying. I think…I don’t know, it’s just a gut feeling. I cut class with her so that she didn’t have to answer the same questions over and over again. She didn’t really hide the bruise very well.” 

“Okay then, but I want you to get there early tomorrow and get the assignments you missed.”

“I’ll text Ned, he’ll get them for me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fact of the day: commas can change the meaning of a sentence.


	7. escapes and plans...and couch cushions

Darrel sat with his back against the cell, chewing on some gum a guard had given him after dinner. The library robbery had been planned for months, they had thought of every outcome. The police would’ve arrived five minutes after they had left, it was the perfect crime. They had cut the video camera wires; they had waited until the least popular time hour so they wouldn’t have to deal with too many civilians. Everything had gone according to plan, except that damn Spider-boy-thing. 

The guard dragged another inmate and pushed him in the cell with Darrel. 

“About time you got here, Jared,” Darrel said lazily. Jared just grunted at him, leaning on the bars. 

A series of taps came the cement wall behind him. Darrel got up reluctantly and leaned against the bars next to Jared, looking at the guard at the end of the hall. The guard nodded to him as a whole in the wall fell inward. 

By the end of the night, Jared and Darrel sat on a couch in a cheap motel room with a beer in their hands watching the news. 

“What’s the plan, Darrel?”

“We need to get rid of that spider on our backs,” Darrel turned up the volume when a video of the Spider-Man played. 

“While many call him a hero, Police Chief Roger Manner calls him a menace.” The new anchor announced. 

“He is getting in the way of my hard working police officers who know the protocol, if I see this Spider-Man I’m going to lock him up for a long long time.” 

Darrel turned off the television and stood up, “Logan died because of this spider.”

Jared felt the anger swell within him, “his wife had to learn about his death from the bloody news. Let’s teach this Spider-Man how we mourn the death of one of our brothers.” 

“I agree.” Darrel popped off a cushion on the couch and pulled out a duffle bag. “But we need to get pick up someone.” 

“Where are we going?” Jared asked. 

“Austin, Texas.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y’all ideas are flooding into my head like a canal! I have a layout of chapters up to 14 so this is going to be a longer fic. I plan to upload every day, but my work schedule changes daily, so don’t hold me to it. I’ll try to get ahead with writing today so that I can upload daily. I hope y’all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it. <3


	8. decathlon and trophies...and hurt feelings

By the start of her second week at school, Emmy’s bruise was small enough to cover up with makeup, she could finally stop wearing baseball hats to school. Her pink hair matching with her tank top, pink plaid button up, and jean shorts. She walked down the hall smiling, feeling very confident in herself today. 

“Someone’s in a good mood,” Ned said. Peter looked up from his locker to see Emmy walking towards them. 

“Hey, Ned. Hey, Peter.”

“Hello, Miss Sunshine.”

Emmy put her arms around Ned and Peter, “boys, this weekend was weird as hell. But this week is going to be amazing! We’re going to kick Brooklyn ass today at the decathlon meet. I’ll meet y’all on the bus.”

“That was the best pep talk ever,” Ned said plainly. 

“It’s nice to see her so happy.”

“Woah, woah, woah,” Ned turned his head to Peter as they kept walking. “You’re not…” Ned put a hand on Peter’s shoulder. “Are you…” Ned snapped to the side of Peter’s face. “Pizza on a stick, you like Emmy!” 

Peter put a hand over Ned’s mouth shaking his head, “no, no, no I don’t.” 

“But you do!” Ned mumbled. 

“I…I don’t…don’t like her.” 

“That’s ‘cuz you loooooovvvveee her.” Peter punches Ned’s arm, letting go of his mouth. “Ow, dude. Have you been working out? Ow!” 

“She’s a friend, Ned. Just a friend.” Ned raised one eyebrow at Peter, “Ned, don’t give me the Spock look, please.” 

“So, you don’t like her.” Ned said slowly. 

“No, I do, like her I mean, I like her, but…I mean, I don’t… I want…ugh, can we, like, stop talking about it?” 

“Alright, but this is going to be harder than what we usually do with girls we like. Because, you know, this one, she actually talks to us.” 

Peter pushed him hands further into his pockets, “let’s just get to the bus.” 

On the bus, Peter sat behind Emmy, who rested her back against the window as she talked to Liz. 

“Oh, this one you’re not going to get,” Liz said, leaning over the seat, flash cards in her hand. “What technique would you most probably use if you were an artist working rapidly outside?”

“Alla prima,” Emmy said without hesitation.

“How? How do you know?”

Michelle pipped up from her seat in the front of the bus, “we don’t need to Jamal Malik this.” 

“Huh?” Liz said over her shoulder. 

“Slumdog Millionaire,” Peter and Emmy said together. 

“Alright team, we’re here. Let’s have fun out there, remember, it’s not about winning.”

“Except it kind of is,” Michelle said as she walked off the bus. 

Peter gestured for Emmy to exit before him, she got up and her knee gave way. He caught her, her hands went around his neck. 

Emmy laughed, pushing herself off Peter, “sorry, my knees gave out.” 

Ned had to nudge Peter to keep walking, “alright, Mr. I don’t like her, let’s keep walking.” 

“Last question, for either team, when plutonium -239 decays to uranium -235, which of the following types of radiation is emitted?”

No one buzzed in for a few seconds. Peter looked at Emmy, who sat toward his left. She had her eyes closed and her fingers tapped in the air like playing the piano. She hit the buzzer with her other hand. 

“Midtown.”

“Alpha.” Emmy said quickly. She looked to Peter and did a small shrug. 

“Correct! Midtown wins against Washington High!”

Emmy exhaled deeply and stood up with Michelle, Ned, and Peter. They shook the hands with the team from Washington High. 

“Good job, Bubble Princess,” one guy said to Emmy in a low tone. 

“It’s Princess Bubblegum, if you’re going to hit on me at least have the decency to be correct.” 

“Oooohh,” Ned said into his mouth. “Do you need some silver sulfadiazine for that burn?” Peter clenched the guys hand a bit harder than usual. 

“That was amazing, Emmy,” Liz threw her arms around her. “You are just as smart as they say.”

“Uh, who said that?” Emmy asked. 

“The teacher’s council, they went on and on about you before you came here. They were like lions in an arena, fighting over who would have you in their organization.” 

Emmy stood back a bit and Peter wanted to tell Liz to stop talking. 

“What?”

“Yeah, Mr. Harrington made a really strong case for you. And even then we had to make sure you didn’t go to any other organization. Good thing Peter met you first,” Peter shook his head as Emmy turned to face him. 

Emmy nodded, cocking her head a bit as she pushed past Liz exiting the stage, walking straight past Mr. Harrington holding the trophy. 

“Smooth goin’ there, Liz.” Michelle said popping a stick of gum in her mouth. “You might have just made her quit.”

“Was it something I said?” 

Peter tapped Ned’s shoulder and went off after Emmy. He found her sitting on a bench on the outside of the front doors. 

“You know it wasn’t like that, we met before you started school.” 

“I know.” Peter was confused by her seemingly calm tone. “It’s just…I thought that I was making these friends on my own. My mistake.” Emmy stood up. 

“Emmy,” he stepped in her path. 

“It’s fine, Peter, really.” She stuffed her hands in her pockets and walked back into the school. Peter scrunched his eyebrows together and thought about leaving her alone, but instead he raced after her.


	9. subways and claustrophobia...and confrontation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, obviously, I had to change the rating on this fic to mature, because i'm handling the topic of child abuse. If you need help defining what it is, feel free to ask. But if you think you have a friend or family member please call the Health and Human Services for your state. I would put the phone number, but I only know the one for Texas. Just wanted to tell y'all this, and now back to the story. :)

Peter watched Emmy on the bus ride home, she kept her eyes closed and her ear buds in. 

“Peter, I can feel you staring at me.” Emmy took out the ear buds and placed the phone in her lap. “What’s up?”

“Oh…I just…I’m sorry. What Liz said…it was stupid…and I-”

“Peter,” she smiled softly, “it’s fine, really.” Emmy knew she didn’t feel fine, but it was just easier to just forget the pain and pretend everything was alright. 

Peter didn’t know how to continue the conversation so he just kept quiet, but he felt horrible. Not that he really did anything wrong, but he felt the sink in his chest that Emmy thought he was only friend with her for the decathlon club. He wouldn’t care if she was on the cheerleading squad, he would still want to be friends with her, he was still confused on why she wanted to be friends with him. 

The bus dropped them off at the subway station by the school. “Why aren’t we going back to school?” Emmy asked. 

“Decathlon members don’t have to go to back to school after a meet,” Michelle answered. “To ‘mentally rest’.” 

“Oh, cool.” Emmy hopped off the bus and headed down the subway stairs. 

“Emmy, wait up,” Peter said, skipping a few steps to catch up. “Will you talk to me, please?”

“Peter, I’ve said it like a million times, I’m fine. Leave it alone.” Emmy tilted her head up to take a breath. 

“I won’t,” Peter said walking down the stairs with her. “Not until you tell me the truth.”

“No, Peter. I’m fine,” Emmy maneuvered around people, taking shallow breaths as she lost personal space. 

“Emmy-” Emmy stopped suddenly, putting her hand to her heart, trying to breath. “Emmy?” He guider her onto the nearest train car, that wasn’t filled with people. He didn’t even look to see where it was going. He sat her down at the end of the car and sat down beside her. “Take a deep breath okay?” 

Emmy couldn’t hear, her heart was pounding in her hears like a bass drum at a metal concert. It’s all she could focus on, her vision was blurry and her body shaking. 

“Close your eyes,” Peter said for the third time. He hesitantly raised his hand, and covered her eyes. 

Emmy grabbed onto the hand on her face, coming back to reality. Her heart beat slowed down and she took deep breaths, her mind clearing. 

“Emmy, do you feel better?” 

“Yeah, I’m okay.” 

“How long have you been claustrophobic?” Peter asked removing his hand, moving it to her back, rubbing softly. 

“Ever since I was little, I guess. It’s never been this bad before, there are just… a lot of people in this city.” Emmy smiled slightly. 

The announcer spoke in a garbled tone that Emmy couldn’t understand. 

“Where are we going?” 

“It’s okay, we can just get off in a few stops then-”

Emmy waved her hand, “sounds like a plan.” 

Peter looked around the subway car they were on, they were paying attention to other things, so he took the opportunity

“Emmy, I-”

“I’m sorry-”

They both giggle before waiting for the other to continue speaking. 

“You go,” Peter said. 

“I’m sorry that I’ve been pushing, Peter. It’s just I’m not use to someone caring this much.” 

Then Peter had, what the internet called, a revelation. All this time, telling himself that he didn’t like her. Telling himself that he still had a crush on Liz, when he hadn’t even thought of her all week. But how obvious it was no, how obvious he was. 

“You have to understand, I’m not this sociable. Most of my friends were made by sheer proximity,” Emmy laughed breathlessly. “But those people where just the people I sat with a lunch and made light conversation with. They didn’t know about my life, or what I wanted to do. Most of them thought I was going to follow in my mother’s footsteps and be a pianist.” Emmy shivered and made a face. “Peter, I was hurt by what Liz said because I thought that New York would be different than Texas, that y’all actually wanted to be my friend.” Peter started to open his mouth, Emmy held up a finger, “but it’s okay. Because I know that you’re not my friend because of decathlon.”

“I…yeah, I like you…as a friend…because you’re nice, and fun to hang around, and you’re… you’re so smart.” Emmy smiled and the subway doors opened. “Do you want to come back to my house, May always makes cookie cake after a decathlon meet?” 

Emmy chuckled, “I’m gonna head home. Mom’s in London working with their symphony, I want to relish in the solitude.” 

Peter walked with Emmy, pointing out the train she needed to take to get back to her house. They started to part ways but Peter took a deep breath and said something that had been on his mind all weekend. 

“Emmy,” she turned around, “you didn’t get that bruise from the library. Your mom hit you, didn’t she?”


	10. Reflection time and Tony Stark...and Iced Tea

CHAPTER 10 

Emmy starred at Peter, the doors opened and people swerved around the young girl. She looked down and turned from Peter, entering the subway car. She stood, looking down at her shoes until she was sure. Pulling out her phone she held it out, even though there was no signal. She could have gotten the bruise from the library. The man holding her could’ve easily elbowed her in the face. 

She typed in a quick message to Peter, smiling slightly at his determination. 

Closing the door, Emmy headed straight to the kitchen, she pulled out the pitcher of iced tea and chugged a glass. 

A loud bang came from the window and Emmy jumped, she told herself it was a bird and placed the pitcher back in the fridge. 

Emmy closed the door slowly, the feeling that she was being watched filled her stomach. 

“’ello, pink poppy.” The sound of a handgun cocking echoed throughout the kitchen. “Let’s go, come on.” 

 

Peter scuffed his feet on the asphalt outside his apartment. He stopped when he saw the shiny, clean, car parked illegally. He jogged up the stairs not trying to over analyze the situation. All he did was ask a question…and she knows they’re friends. Peter rubbed the back of his neck, why hadn’t he waited to talk to her when they were alone? Why couldn’t he have told her how he feels instead? How was confessing his feelings harder than confronting her about her injuries?

“Hey, May, there’s this fancy car parked out front-” Peter had to stop his sentence because on his couch, in his apartment, sitting next to his aunt, was none of than the Avenger, Tony Stark. 

Peter walked out of his room with Stark five minutes later with a backpack and a strange look on his face. 

“I’m going to take Peter here on the Stark Industries retreat, prepare him for the internship.” 

“Alright,” May says, a hand to her chin, “I’ll call his school.” 

“Already done,” Stark smiled and opened the door, but stopped Peter from walking out with his free arm. “Say goodbye to Aunt May,” Stark reminded. 

“Bye, Aunt May.”

Peter stayed behind Tony as they walked down the stairs. 

“Uh, Mr. Stark, are we going to Germany right now?”

“Yeah, why? You got somewhere else to go?”

Peter looked at his text from Emmy-

You don’t have to worry about me

“No, I’m good. Let’s go,” Peter slid into the fancy car, turning off his phone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are y'all pumped for the next chapter? Emmy is going to meet someone important. Can you guess who it is?


	11. Memories and betrayal...and identities

Emmy is taken to her room, a gun pointed at her back. She stopped and swung her arm around, trying to grab the gun, “eh, eh, eh,” Darrel speaks slowly, grabbing her wrist. “You’re going to want to see what I have for you.” 

In her room was pictures highlighted up of Spider-Man, some of Emmy and Spider-Man together, and some of her and Peter. Emmy didn’t speak, she just looked across the room. 

“Esmerelda,” her mother said through soft moans. She was being held back with a knife by her father. 

“Hello Esmerelda, I see you’ve been hanging around superhero’s again lately. Mystic says hi, by the way.”

Emmy’s mind throws her back into the past. 

She was six years old, long, blonde, pig tails, unevenly tied because her father had to do her hair since her mother’s piano recital parties were lasting until the early hours in the morning. 

“Daddy!” Emmy ran into his leg, holding on tightly as she starred up sheepishly at the men in front of her. 

“Is this Esmerelda?” One man knelt down to her level, his eyes shined, like he was outside on a sunny day. “She will bring you lots of pain, Eddie.”

“Don’t I know it,” he replied putting a hand comfortingly on her head. 

“I also see, a boy-”

“Stop, I don’t want to know, give me a few years of happiness, will ya? Esmerelda, this is a real life superhero.” 

“Like Iron Man?” Emmy asked excitedly. 

The man scoffed, “Iron Man wish he could be like me.” 

“No, not like Iron Man, something a lot…better.” 

Emmy blinked and brought herself back into the room. “He told me later that a boy would tear us apart, I didn’t believe him. But now we know better, don’t we?”

“Eddie, let me go, please,” Lisa pleaded, tears rolling down her cheeks. 

“We’ll-”

“I know you just want Esmerelda,” Lisa went on, “just take her and leave. I didn’t do anything, please. Just leave me, please.” 

Emmy bit the inside of her cheek, she should have been surprised. She should have started to cry because of the betrayal, but she didn’t. Maybe it was the shock, or maybe it was just…of course, this would happen to her. Her, supposed to be in jail, father with the two people who tried to rob the library last week, here in her room now with her mother held with a knife to her throat and a gun to her own back.

“Seriously,” Darrel said laughing, “Jesus Christ, Eddie, you sure know how to pick ‘em.”

“Alright then,” Eddie tightened the knife a bit, causing Lisa to whimper, “you’re not going to call the police, do you understand?”

“Yes, yes, yes, I understand.”

Emmy took the time to study the pictures on the wall, Darrel whispered in her ear, “we found the identity of your Spider-Man.”

“Peter,” she said softly. How hadn’t she put together the similarities. Had he planned on her meeting May that first day? This explained why he kept pestering her about the bruise on her head. He’d known the whole time. “What do you want from me?” She asked her father. 

Eddie walked forward, pushing Lisa to the floor, “I want you to get me Spider-Man.”


	12. Civil War and Mr. Stark...and a Balcony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm posting two in one day because Friday is going to be hard for me. I am working the late shift that day so here you go. Enjoy :)

Peter had texted Emmy multiple times during his “retreat” with Tony Stark. 

I do worry.

If you need anything, just call. Or text. Or email.

Do people still email? 

I don’t know. LOL

How was your day?

He started to type again when Mr. Stark walked behind him. 

“Looks like you’re in trouble,” Peter quickly put his phone in his pocket.

“I’m not, she’s just…not answering, for some reason.”

“Means you’re in trouble, kid. It’s the technological silent treatment.” 

“She wasn’t mad when she left. She… I’m just worried about her.” 

“What’s her name?” Tony said taking out his phone.

“Huh?”

“Your girlfriend, kid. What’s her name?”

“She’s…she’s not,” Peter stuttered, “my girlfriend. Uh, Emmy, no, Esmerelda Barron.” 

Peter watched Tony type and scroll on his phone. His eyebrows connected as he continued his search. 

“What is it?” Peter asked worried.

“Her father is Edward Barron.” 

Peter shrugged, “she never talked about him.”

Tony rubbed his jaw, “we do not have time for this.” 

“What? What is it?” Peter tried to look over his phone. 

“He’s a very bad man who escaped prison last week. I’ll make a few calls; I’ll get someone on this.” 

“What about me, I could help,” Peter offered. 

Tony spun around, Peter almost running into his chest. “No, no, kid. Stay away from Barron. He’s dangerous, one of the first men I put away after my… change in lifestyle.” 

“I can’t just do nothing.” 

“Of course not,” Tony said underneath his breath. “Stay with the daughter. Keep the Agent informed.” 

“Thank you, Mr. Stark.”

They get back in the fancy car and drive back. Out of the corner of his eye, Tony saw Peter texting the daughter multiple times. 

“Does she know?” Tony asked. 

“No,” though he wanted too. “I’ve tried, but I guess, I’m just worried she won’t say it back.” 

“You’re worried she will also confess that she has a secret about-”

“I was talking about,” Peter huffed and stuffed his phone into his back pocket. “I was talking about…”

“Oh, you haven’t told her you love her yet.” 

“Love…what is with everyone and that word…I’ve only known her for a few weeks. Like, I like her, you know, but I can’t…I’m not good at expressing feelings, especially since she is so pretty, and I’m so…me.” 

Tony snorted, “kid, you just have to tell her how you feel.” 

Peter sighed, “okay, thanks.” He said sarcastically; of course he knew that was the obvious option, he just hoped there was an easier one. 

“There’s no way around it, kid,” Stark said, as if he could read Peter’s mind, “just say what’s on your mind.” 

“I’m not you, Mr. Stark, I’m not…confident.” 

“I saw Spider-Man quipping with a 90-year-old super soldier, if that’s not confident, I don’t know what is.” 

When Peter got back to his street, Mr. Stark gave him one last piece of advice. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do... and definitely don’t do anything I would do.” 

Peter left the car confused and filled with wonder as he clutched the back with his new suit inside, “talk to the girl, kid. Keep her away from her Barron.” 

“Right, okay, Mr. Stark, will do.” 

Peter watched the car turn one corner before he went to the back ally of his apartment and changed into his Spider-Man suit, he swung over to Emmy’s house, enjoying the smoothness of his transport. 

He wanted to knock on the door, but decided to jump onto her balcony. 

Romeo didn’t have to do this, Peter thought as he pulled himself over the railing. The first thing he noticed was the red stain on the white carpet. The balcony doors were unlocked and he was emotionally over flooded with the pictures he hadn’t noticed outside.

Pictures. Of him, of Peter, and of Spider-Man, of him and Emmy. 

She knows.


	13. Marble Tiles and New Suits...and A Badass Female Agent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love y’all’s feedback, I’m so glad you’re liking it.

Peter felt like he was hit with a semi, Emmy was in danger. He raced throughout the house until he came to the kitchen, seeing a middle-aged woman with a more than canny resemblance to Emmy. She had a half empty bottle of alcohol in her right hand and a glass filled with ice in the other. 

“Where’s Emmy?” Peter said, his voice low and threatening. 

“She’s gone,” Lisa didn’t even look in his direction. 

“When? What did the police say?”

“They would’ve killed me, he had… a knife…” she rubbed her neck, “…to my throat.”

Peter’s heart sped up to the point he was dizzy. He felt tears building in his eyes, he swallowed the lump in his throat, “how long ago did this happen?”

“Uh… almost a week ago.”

“A week!” Peter leaned against the marble counter, he slammed his fist down, the tile cracked underneath. 

This is my fault, he thought. 

If he had stayed, he would’ve known, he could have gone over to her, maybe even stopped Barron, whom he knew was behind this. 

Peter startled to walk out of the kitchen, “when I get Emmy back, I’m putting you in jail for child abuse.” He didn’t wait for her response, if she could. He swung to the fire escape of a nearly empty building and pulled out his phone, calling Happy. 

“Peter.”

“Happy, she’s gone. Emmy’s been gone for a week. I need to speak to Mr. Stark, I need-”

“Peter, Peter, slow down. A very skilled agent is heading to your location as we speak.”

“But-”

“Hey, Spider-Man!” A female voice called from the street below. Peter hung up the phone and flipped down, landing in front of the tall agent. “I’ve been briefed on Barron, traffic cameras had them leaving on a jet with the young girl last week, heading to Austin.” 

Peter nodded, “okay.” He took a deep breath, “okay, when do we leave?”

“My orders are to go alone,” the agent said directly, “scope out the facility, find the target, and wait for an extraction team.”

The tears threatened to fall once again, “no, I have to go, please. I should’ve have protected her; I have to keep her safe.” 

The agent crossed her arms, “nothing I can do. I will be leaving out of the Tower in twenty minutes, jet 503, I expect to be alone.” 

Peter smiled behind his mask. “Thank you, Agent…” he trailed off. 

“Hill. Maria Hill.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Maria Hill, actually, I love Cobie Smulders. But, you know, who doesn’t. I was debating between bring in Hill or May, but since Hill works for Stark now I feel like that would be more likely.


	14. No windows and fathers...and super villians

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating in a few days, but work picks up on the weekends and I was barely at my laptop. I took Sunday to play catch up on writing. This has been so fun to write and I now have chapter layouts until chapter 20!

ONE WEEK AGO

Emmy woke up in a windowless, grey, room. She immediately pulled her legs to her chest and takes in a deep breath, closing her eyes. 

“Please don’t be real, please don’t be real, please don’t be real.” She opened her eyes and found that she was still in the windowless room. 

With a big deep breath in through her nose and out through her mouth, Emmy waited until the room became un-fuzzy. 

It took her brain a while to recap on all she had gone through in the past 24 hours. Her father had kidnapped her, her mother had let him, and Peter was Spider-Man. And honestly, one of these things was not like the other, but she didn’t have time for it. So, she focused on her current problem. Getting out of the room. 

The situation reminded her of an escape room she went to on a school field trip back in middle school. But there was no timer, there were no hints she could use, no clues aimlessly lying around.

Emmy starred at the door, wondering if it was locked. She walked hesitantly toward it and touched it with one finger first, lightly. Turning it completely she opened it, “okay,” she whispered, drawing out the word. 

Beyond the door was a dimly lit hallway, she kept one hand on the wall as she walked forward. Other doors similar to the one she walked out of lined the room, she thought about knocking…she didn’t. 

“Oh, you’re up, wonderful.” Eddie’s voice made Emmy jump and push her back into the nearby wall. “Follow me,” Emmy stood still, taking in the form of her father. He was dressed casually, holding a coffee mug in his left hand. “Come on, the sooner we start the sooner we’ll finish.” He clapped his hands loudly, an echo traveling through the hallway. 

Emmy followed, “if you want Spider-Man to find me than taking me away from New York isn’t going to help you.” 

“Oh,” Eddie laughed, “I couldn’t care less about the spider-man. The two men who broke me out want your friend, it was a win-win deal, they get him…and I get you. I’m going to make you into what you were meant to be, powerful.” He turned to face her, placing his free hand in his pant pocket. Emmy backed up her back hitting someone’s chest. “You remember Mystic, right?” 

“Esmerelda,” Mystic spun her around, grabbing her arm, “the last time I saw you, you were this tall.” He indicated with his hand how tall she was. 

“The last time I saw you, you were in the back of a police car,” Emmy could physically feel herself retreating to who she was when she was a little girl. A girl who didn’t care what happened to her, a girl who would stand up to super villains. 

Mystic smiled, his sunglasses raising, “she’s the exact same, Eddie.” 

“Alright, let’s get her in the green room,” Eddie had a pep in his step as his daughter was practically dragged behind him. “I’m excited; you’ll be one of us in no time.”

“I will never be like you,” Emmy meant to say softly. 

Mystic chuckled, “I’ve seen the future, and you do join us.”

“It’s never going to happen,” Emmy said defiantly. 

“Oh, Esmerelda,” Eddie stopped to face her, pushing part of her hair behind her ear, “you don’t really have a choice.”


	15. Maria Hill and barns...and Texas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to update regularly, but I'd rather skip a day and make better material then just post what i have that day and have it be...not crappy, but i can't think of another word. Do you know what I mean?

Peter unbuckled himself and walked up to the cock pit and stat by Maria. “How long, Ms. Hill?”

“Three hours, and it’s Agent,” Maria turned her head to speak to Peter. 

“Oh, sorry, Agent Hill. Thank you for letting me…sneak onto this…plane.” 

“Quinjet,” Maria corrected. 

“It’s cool.”

“Right?” She agreed. “So, I know about Barron, what can you tell me about Esmerelda.”

Peter sat sideways, facing Maria as he talked, “she likes to be called Emmy.” Peter went on to talk about what he knew about her, going into detail on how he knew them. 

“She seems nice,” Maria stated. 

“What about Barron, what does he want Emmy for?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Mr. Stark said he arrested him, for what?” 

Maria laughed, “oh, he didn’t arrest him. He did expose him, after this large explosion in East Texas that killed a dozen or so people. The local police found Tesseract level gamma rays. Coulson thought he destroyed a human experiment lab.”

“Tesseract, that’s uh…the…the thing-”

“What Loki’s sector is made of. With it, human experiments to make enhanced individuals are successful.” 

Peter rubbed his legs, his palms getting sweaty. “How do you know they’re successful.” 

“We’ve seen recent success tests, in Sokovia.” 

Peter took a deep breath; he was connecting the dots. Emmy’s knowledge in biomedical engineering, he wanted to make her…enhanced. Peter closed his eyes and rested his head in his hands. What had he gotten into? He should be at home, with May, making plans with Ned to build some Lego star wars. Not here, with a spy, heading to find a girl he had only known for a few weeks. Yet, he knew he wouldn’t leave Emmy behind, he wanted to be the one to rescue her. He wanted to…explain himself? No, he wanted to tell her how he felt, but now was certainly not the time. 

Maria looked over to Peter, “we’ll get her back, Peter. But if you’re going to be here you’re going to have to get focused.” 

A few hours later Peter flipped down into an old barn, half of the roof lay across the floor, and parts of the metal support beams were bent in odd angels. 

“I’m only picking up two figures,” Hill spoke in his ear piece. 

Peter was disappointed, but Emmy had been gone for a week, he couldn’t expect her to be in the same place that they took her. 

“Peter Parker,” Darrel spoke, a gun in his back pocket. “yea, I know your name.”

“I know your name too, Darrel Hanson,” Peter puffed his chest out. “I know you were born in Norwich, England. I know you dropped out of school when you were sixteen because your dad’s drug addiction had taken away your house and you lived in a half-way house in London.” 

Darrel looked back to Jared, who had walked forward as well, a steel pipe in his hand. 

“I know you came to America because Jared Lewis said he’d found you a job that wouldn’t fail. For four years you, two along with your friend Logan Karl and Kevin Marcel, attacks large business’ mid-day, not being caught until you messed with my city. Now, I really don’t care about that. I just want to know where Emmy is.” 

Darrel laughed, looking back at Jared, “Emmy, is that what her name was? Don’t know, mate, don’t care. Wasn’t part of the deal. You’re gonna pay for what you did to us.” 

Peter would’ve chuckled if he was so frustrated, they didn’t know anything, they were useless to him. A wave of anger passed by and before he could physically process what he was doing the two men were handing by their arms at the metal support bars. 

“Peter,” Hill spoke matter-of-fact like, “are you planning to keep them there?”

“Uh, no,” Peter calmed down, taking a deep breath. He pulled them down and wrapped them up. 

“Ow,” Jared said. 

“Oh, sorry, did that hurt?” Peter asked sarcastically. “Well, I don’t care.” He swung off, heading back to the quinjet. 

“Well,” Hill dug her ear piece out and placed it down, “that’s one way of doing it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peter's gonna find Emmy next chapter, what state will she be in?


	16. Syringes and Experiments...and Rescues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My work schedule changes every day, this is new and it’s extremely frustrating and I want to rant but here is not the place for it.

Emmy got into a sort of routine, she would wake up, she didn’t know what time it was, as the window in her room was just a light board attached to the wall, after waking up the door would open and Eddie would walk in with a tray of food. “Good morning, Esmerelda.” She would say nothing, but take a piece of toast off the plate, she would ignore the orange juice and grab the bottled water. 

Today was no different, except for his added line, “you might not be as grumpy today if you ate more than a prisoner.” 

“I would also not be as grumpy if you let me go.”

Eddie smiled, “and what, go back to your mother? Go back to that school where you’re only wanted for your big brain? Go back to that boy who lies to you every day about who he really is? Esmerelda, I’m saving you from your old life.” He moved to lean on the door, “when you finish, we’re going to start the procedure today.” 

“I won’t do it.” 

An hour later Emmy was vertically strapped to a medical table; she worked her wrist, trying to pull herself free. If she could just get one hand free…

“You know,” Eddie smiled, “I had planned to do this when you turned ten, as a birthday present. You were so mature for your age,” he put a hand to his chest, “I’d like to take some credit for that. I wanted you to adjust to the change, to figure out how the enhance helps you. And also, I really wanted to see what it did.” 

Emmy pushed her eyebrows together, “you hadn’t tested it before?”

“Not on humans, no. But, don’t worry, my math is correct.” Eddie walked over to one of the many tables, picking up a syringe. “Do you remember when you were six, you had to get a tetanus shot because of a birthday party at this old park in Houston? You cried the whole time, you were so scared, you hated needles. But I held you hand and made you look away and you didn’t even feel it.” 

“Don’t,” Emmy begged, pulling visibly at the restraints. “Don’t do this.” 

“It’s okay, it’s like the saying, some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” 

A shot rang out and Emmy closed her eyes, she wasn’t sure if the liquid running down her cheeks was sweat or tears. It was possibly a mixture of both. Eddie screamed and the syringe shattered on the floor. 

Emmy’s mind raced through her life, how young she was, all the things she hasn’t done. She prayed, which she hadn’t done since her dad was taken away, he was the real religious person of the house. She prayed for God to let her live, to let Him find a way for her to get out of this. 

A hand wrapped around her arm and Emmy jerked, “you’re safe, Emmy.” 

Emmy opened her eyes to see Peter, well…Spider-Man in front of her. He took off his mask and threw it on the floor, undoing her restraints. 

“Peter,” Emmy sighed. 

Peter tore the restraints off of Emmy’s wrist, making a mental note to mend them as they were covered in blisters. 

“You fool!” Eddie shouted, pulling against the webs crossing his body. “You think you’ve stopped me, but I’ve been prepared for years. The process had already started. She was born for this.” 

“She makes her own choices,” Hill said walked forward, lowering her gun. “I’m going to check the rest of the building, get her back to the jet. We’re leaving in five,” Hill disappeared out the door. 

“What about me? I’ve been shot!” Eddie yelled. “Esmerelda, come back here! Come back!” He pleaded. 

Hill came back four and a half minutes later, she pulled Eddie down from the webs and cuffed him to the wall. “What are you going to do with me?” 

“Oh, you’ll be taken care of…in a few hours. This should make the time go by faster,” Hill pulled out a sleeper and gun and aimed for his chest. His skin momentarily turned blue as his scream froze in throat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Peter saved her before she was injected with the mystery juice. She’s safe…..perhaps


	17. Rescues and Arguments...and doctors

Peter watched Emmy stare at him, he could see her having a conversation with herself in her head. 

She hates me, Peter thought. Why wouldn’t she hate him, he had lied to her, he had let her get kidnapped when Spider-Man was by her side since she got here. 

“You got a new suit,” Emmy said, leaning back in her chair. 

Peter nodded quickly, “yeah, Mr. Stark gave it to me.” 

“Stark. As in Tony?” 

“Yeah.”

“I met him once, when I was little. He spoke at my dad’s trail; I don’t think he knew I was the defendant’s daughter.” Emmy rubbed her wrists, Peter stood up suddenly and went to search for a first aid kit. “Where are you going?” She asked. 

“I am looking for,” Peter dragged out the words, “ah – found it.” He walked back, knelling in front of her. “I’m so sorry I-”

“Peter, don’t-”

“No, Emmy, I…I need to say this,” Peter took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, I was gone and I would’ve noticed if you were missing. I was gone, and you were kidnapped, and I was gone.” 

“What could you have done, Peter? My dad’s kind of a super villain.” Emmy hissed when an alcohol pad touched a sensitive part of her wrist. 

“Sorry,” Peter lifted the pad off her wrist. “Well, I’m kind of… a super hero. It’s our job to stop super villains, save damsels in distress.” He smiled. 

Emmy rolled her eyes slightly, “well, I wouldn’t say in distress. I had a plan, I can handle myself.”

“I know you can handle yourself, Emmy. The first time I saw you, you knocked down two guys by yourself,” Peter made sure she met his eyes before he continued, “which confused me when you lied about the bruise on your face.” 

Emmy looked at her wrists that Peter were mending, “what about your lies Peter.” She looked back up at him. 

“That’s not the same thing,” Peter shook his head. 

“Lies are lies, Peter. At least mine didn’t hurt anyone.” 

“Anyone? What about you? You were hurt, and you told no one!”

“Because it wasn’t anyone’s business. I can handle myself!” Emmy pulled her hands back.

“But you didn’t have to, I could have helped you!”

“How? Webbed my mother to the ceiling and carry me toward the Queen sunset? Life isn’t a movie, Peter.” 

“We’re about to land,” Hill said from the cockpit. “Might wanna…get strapped in.” 

Peter sat down and strapped himself in, holding the first aid kit in his lap. He looked down at his feet, wondering how the conversation had gone awry. 

“Welcome to The Avengers Tower,” Hill said as she led them inside. “Mr. Stark wanted to be here, but he had some urgent business out of the country. So, I have taken personal measure to bring a medical team to look at you, Emmy. I can show you to the medical area.” 

“I feel fine, Agent.” Emmy covered her wrist. 

“Peter, go sit down for a few minutes,” Peter nodded and waited for Emmy to look at him. When she did it was a quick glance, only for a few milliseconds, but it was full of meaning. Her eyes were glistened, as if she were about to cry, her lips were pressed firmly together, and her breath was uneven. 

“Don’t worry, this is just a quick physical check-up. Just through here, door on the left,” Hill pointed to the door. 

Emmy opened the door and a young woman, only a bit taller than herself stood with her back to the door. 

The doctor turned around, “hello there,” she said in a chirpy British accent. 

“Hi, I’m-”

“Esmerelda Barron, I know. I’m Dr. Jemma Simmons.” Jemma held her hand out, Emmy shook it. “Oh, that looks like some nasty friction burns on your wrist. We can fix that with a bit of gauze. You can sit up here,” she patted a large, medical bed. Emmy jumped up to sit on the edge. “Agent Hill told me about the situation, I’m so sorry.” 

Emmy was about to say, ‘it’s fine’. Which it obviously wasn’t, “thank you,” she said instead. “I’m just glad to be away from him.” 

“I read up on his original case file,” Jemma spoke as she worked. “His equations, though correct, wouldn’t produce many results.”

“I know,” Emmy nodded. “The chemical bonding of the acids he was planning to use wouldn’t enhance the human cells, but rather deteriorate them.” 

Jemma smiled, “exactly. Well,” Jemma patted the bandage around her wrists lightly, “that’s that. I’ve been asked to give you a full body exam just in case. But I’m sure you’re right as rain, it’ll only take a few minutes.” 

“Alright,” Emmy said, jumping back down off the bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, I brought Jemma in. Because I think she's amazing. I'm thinking about adding more Agents of Shield. Maybe Coulson...or Daisy. What do y'all think?


	18. Labs and doctor visits...and infections

“So, why pink?” Jemma asked, as Emmy kicked her feet off the bed. They waited for the result of her parliamentary test. 

“It’s my favorite color,” Emmy nodded, “and it pissed my mother off.” 

“I went through a rebellious once,” Jemma typed on a laptop as she spoke. “I skipped a whole week of medical recitation to go to a Shakespeare in the park marathon.” 

Emmy laughed, “that’s real punk of you, Jemma.” 

“Okay, results are in,” Jemma spoke in a sing-song tone, “looks like…”

“Jemma?” Emmy hopped off and walked over to her. 

Jemma backed up and put a hand between the two of them, “Emmy, don’t move. Don’t…move.” She ran out of the door and hit a button making an alarm sound, the doors shut and locked, 

Emmy ran to them and put her palm to the glass. “Hey, what’s going on?” 

“Emmy!” Peter showed up and ran toward the door. “Open the door, what are you doing?” 

“She’s infected,” Jemma said, her breathing increased looking down at the unknown numbers on the screen. “I don’t know…these numbers…they’re…I need to run some more tests.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this was a short chapter. Because I want to explain that I am going back to college in a few weeks so updates will be farther apart. Like perhaps, once a month, which sucks but I’m on a 18 credit hour schedule. I know, I know, excuses. Also, I’m going to bring in a story plot from Agents of Shield, I’ll explain it, so don’t feel like you need to watch the show to understand.


	19. Friends and confusion...and alien planets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will have spoilers from Agents of Shield, just a warning. And also Spider-Man: Homecoming, but since you got this far, I’m guessing you already knew that.

Peter sat with his back to the glass, Emmy in the same position behind the glass. Jemma watched them, remembering a similar situation a few years back. Back when she thought she was going to die, and Fitz, her best friend, her lover, sat just like that throwing her every possible angle to save her. 

Jemma wished she had handled the situation a bit calmer, with more professionalism. She had let herself get connected to Emmy, the patient. She didn’t expect to find anything; she was expecting to be back with Fitz by dinner. 

“Dr. Simmons, am I allowed to eat?” Emmy asked. 

“I don’t see why not. I’ll ask Agent Hill to get you some food.”

Peter watched Jemma leave then stood up and looked at the security panel. 

“Peter,” Emmy sighed into the metal table, “don’t mess with it.” 

“You shouldn’t be in here, you’re fine.” 

“If Dr. Simmons says-”

“No!” Peter sighed and sat back down, cross legged. “I’m sorry, I just…” he pressed his forehead to the glass. “I’m so sorry.” 

“Peter, it’s not your fault.” 

“But I could have helped you, if I had just…been there. For you. I could have…” Peter saw Emmy scoot forward and place her hand by his head. “I’m so sorry, Emmy. I just care about you so much and I left you without even checking in, and then you never answered my texts and I thought it was because you were mad at me. I just…I... I…”

“You…you like me, Peter?” Emmy smiled down at her lap. This was not the best time to talk about this, but, as Emmy was thinking she might die with whatever ‘infection’ Jemma was talking about, might as well get everything out in the open. “You could’ve fooled me, Ned said you two went on and on about Liz.” 

Peter took a deep breath looking into her eyes, “no one compares to you, Emmy.” 

“Oh, Peter.” Emmy sighed. 

Peter’s heart sped up when she said his name. Since he was physically unable to, Peter liked to think if he had the chance he would kiss her now. 

“Peter,” Hill said walking in. “Come with me.” Emmy stood up as Peter did. “Dr. Simmons brought in some members from her own team to help her assess the situation.” 

A few hours later, Leo Fitz walked up and placed his calloused hands on Jemma’s shoulders, messaging them lightly. He had to bypass his excitement of being in Dr. Bruce Banner’s working space and jump straight into the problem Jemma called the team in about. 

“You’ve been up all day, you should get some rest,” his Scottish accent thicker with tiredness. Jemma shook her head. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Jemma clicked to a screen showing DNA strands that were altered. Fitz leaned down, his face now next to hers. “It looks like…”

“I know.”

“Isn’t that…”

“Yes, I believe so.” 

“What does this mean?” Fitz asked. “This can’t be possible.”

“Obviously, it is possible. It’s right here in front of us.” Jemma stood walking to a screen, turning it on, showing Emmy in her cell and Peter sitting on the outside. “If she had mutated genes from an Earth species that’d be manageable, but this is too similar to what my DNA looked like when I came back from that…horrid place.” Jemma shuddered, remembering how she was trapped on a desolate place. How she came back and her DNA had changed, not as drastic as Emmy’s. Jemma was confused, if her DNA had changed so drastically, why wasn’t she showing any signs? 

“Sensitivity to light, to sound,” Jemma mumbled. 

“What was that?” Fitz asked, her eyes glued to the screen. He, too, remembered the all too traumatizing event. 

“I was hyper sensitive,” Jemma spoke louder. “To everything, sound, light, touch. My senses were on overdrive for weeks.” 

“And she’s fine,” Fitz grabbed a tablet and scrolled through Jemma’s original tests. “We need to run more tests.” 

“What tests? We still know nothing about the planet except the ultra-evil being that came from it.” 

“Jemma, take a deep breath,” she did, “now, pretend this is one of those impossible lecture quizzes. What do you do after the initial tests?” Fitz knew that putting her in a school mind-set would help her calm down. 

“Blood work, I’ll see if the mutation matches anything we have on file. Will you grab Peter, go…boy bond or something? He’s been particularly difficult when it comes to putting Emmy through tests.” 

“You seriously underestimate my social skills,” he said, kissing the side of her head before leaving the lab.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How are y’all liking this? It’s taking a turn. What mutation do you believe Emmy possess? I’ll explain how it got in her system in the next chapter. Also, if you could have any super power what would it be? I would like to have emotion control, like make people feel things. I’m not completely sure why.

**Author's Note:**

> so, how did this go? Did you like it? What should happen next? I have a flimsy idea of where this is going, but I would love some help.


End file.
